The French football champions are the winners of the highest league of football in France, Ligue 1. Since the National Council of the French Football Federation voted in support of professionalism in French football in 1930, the professional football championship of France has been contested through Ligue 1, formerly known as Division 1 from 1933–2002.^[1][2]

Prior to this, the first division championship of French football was contested through a league run by the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques (USFSA), an organization that supported amateur sport. The USFSA's league run from 1894 to 1919 and awarded 22 league titles before being suspended in 1915 due to World War I and the creation and success of the Coupe de France, which had quickly become the country's national competition.^[3] The USFSA returned in 1919 changing the league into numerous regional amateur leagues that awarded no league title. This system lasted from 1919 to 1926. In 1926, the first division's reins were handed over to the French Football Federation. The federation organized and ran a league composed of the regional amateur league champions called the Championnat de France amateur from 1927 to 1929 and awarded three titles before the league was converted to the professional league that exists today in 1932.^[1]

The first champions of French football were Standard Athletic Club, who defeated The White Rovers 2–0 in Courbevoie on 6 May 1894.^[4] The initial championship match was held on 29 April but finished 2–2, so the match was replayed.^[4] Standard went on to win the French championship four more times over the next seven years before RC Roubaix took control of the league becoming the first French club to win three straight titles beginning in 1902.^[5] Following Roubaix's success, the ownership of the amateur league title began rotating back and forth from the north of France to the south of France with Marseille eventually winning the last amateur title in 1929.^[5]

The first French football champions of the professional era were Olympique Lillois, a predecessor of Lille, who defeated Cannes 4–3 on 14 May 1933 at the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir in Colombes.^[5] Sète were crowned champions the following season and, in 1939, became the first professional club in France to win two titles.^[5] Following the conclusion of World War II, Saint-Étienne became the model club of the country winning four consecutive titles from 1966 to 1970.^[5] The club won all its 10 titles in a span of 25 years. Marseille repeated Saint-Étienne's feat of four consecutive titles from 1988 to 1992. It would take the club another 17 years to win another title. During the hiatus between Marseille's title in 1992 and the club's most recent in 2010, Lyon established themselves as a top club winning their first title in 2002. The title started a national record-breaking streak of seven successive league championships with the streak coming to an end following the 2008–09 season when Bordeaux eclipsed them winning their sixth title.^[6][7]

Paris Saint-Germain have the most titles in French football, with eleven, followed by Saint-Étienne and Marseille, with ten each.^[8][9] The majority of Saint-Étienne's titles came during the 1960s and 1970s when the club was led by managers Jean Snella, Albert Batteux, and Robert Herbin. Marseille has nine professional league titles and one amateur title which they won in the 1928–29 season.^[9] The club initially equalled Saint-Étienne's number of titles won during the 1992–93 season, but the title was stripped after it was discovered by the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) that the club's president Bernard Tapie had bribed the opposition's players.^[10][11] Tapie was later found guilty of bribery and sentenced to two years in prison.^[12] In the 2009–10 season, Marseille equalled Saint-Étienne's number of titles, amateur or professional.^[13][14] Paris Saint-Germain won nine of their eleven titles in an eleven-year span from 2013 to 2023. Nantes and Monaco are fourth with eight titles each, while Lyon has seven.^[15][16][17]

List of champions

Amateur era (1893–1929)

Professional era (1932–present)

Season	Winners[2][21][22]	Runners-up	Third place
1932–33	Olympique Lillois (2)	Cannes	FC Antibes
1933–34	Sète (1)	Fives	Marseille
1934–35	Sochaux (1)	Strasbourg	RC Paris
1935–36	RC Paris (2)	Lille	Strasbourg
1936–37	Marseille (2)	Sochaux	RC Paris
1937–38	Sochaux (2)	Marseille	Sète
1938–39	Sète (2)	Marseille	RC Paris
1939–45	Suspended due to World War II
1945–46	Lille (1)	Saint-Étienne	RC Roubaix
1946–47	Roubaix–Tourcoing (1)	Reims	Strasbourg
1947–48	Marseille (3)	Lille	Reims
1948–49	Reims (1)	Lille	Marseille
1949–50	Bordeaux (1)	Lille	Reims
1950–51	Nice (1)	Lille	Le Havre
1951–52	Nice (2)	Bordeaux	Lille
1952–53	Reims (2)	Sochaux	Bordeaux
1953–54	Lille (2)	Reims	Bordeaux
1954–55	Reims (3)	Toulouse (1937)	Lens
1955–56	Nice (3)	Lens	Monaco
1956–57	Saint-Étienne (1)	Lens	Reims
1957–58	Reims (4)	Nîmes	Monaco
1958–59	Nice (4)	Nîmes	RC Paris
1959–60	Reims (5)	Nîmes	RC Paris
1960–61	Monaco (1)	RC Paris	Reims
1961–62	Reims (6)	RC Paris	Nîmes
1962–63	Monaco (2)	Reims	Sedan
1963–64	Saint-Étienne (2)	Monaco	Lens
1964–65	Nantes (1)	Bordeaux	Valenciennes
1965–66	Nantes (2)	Bordeaux	Valenciennes
1966–67	Saint-Étienne (3)	Nantes	Angers
1967–68	Saint-Étienne (4)	Nice	Sochaux
1968–69	Saint-Étienne (5)	Bordeaux	Metz
1969–70	Saint-Étienne (6)	Marseille	Sedan
1970–71	Marseille (4)	Saint-Étienne	Nantes
1971–72	Marseille (5)	Nîmes	Sochaux
1972–73	Nantes (3)	Nice	Marseille
1973–74	Saint-Étienne (7)	Nantes	Lyon
1974–75	Saint-Étienne (8)	Marseille	Lyon
1975–76	Saint-Étienne (9)	Nice	Sochaux
1976–77	Nantes (4)	Lens	Bastia
1977–78	Monaco (3)	Nantes	Strasbourg
1978–79	Strasbourg (1)	Nantes	Saint-Étienne
1979–80	Nantes (5)	Sochaux	Saint-Étienne
1980–81	Saint-Étienne (10)	Nantes	Bordeaux
1981–82	Monaco (4)	Saint-Étienne	Sochaux
1982–83	Nantes (6)	Bordeaux	Paris Saint-Germain
1983–84	Bordeaux (2)	Monaco	Auxerre
1984–85	Bordeaux (3)	Nantes	Monaco
1985–86	Paris Saint-Germain (1)	Nantes	Bordeaux
1986–87	Bordeaux (4)	Marseille	Toulouse
1987–88	Monaco (5)	Bordeaux	Montpellier
1988–89	Marseille (6)	Paris Saint-Germain	Monaco
1989–90	Marseille (7)	Bordeaux	Monaco
1990–91	Marseille (8)	Monaco	Auxerre
1991–92	Marseille (9)	Monaco	Paris Saint-Germain
1992–93	— [nb 3]	Paris Saint-Germain	Monaco
1993–94	Paris Saint-Germain (2)	Marseille	Auxerre
1994–95	Nantes (7)	Lyon	Paris Saint-Germain
1995–96	Auxerre (1)	Paris Saint-Germain	Monaco
1996–97	Monaco (6)	Paris Saint-Germain	Nantes
1997–98	Lens (1)	Metz	Monaco
1998–99	Bordeaux (5)	Marseille	Lyon
1999–2000	Monaco (7)	Paris Saint-Germain	Lyon
2000–01	Nantes (8)	Lyon	Lille
2001–02	Lyon (1)	Lens	Auxerre
2002–03	Lyon (2)	Monaco	Marseille
2003–04	Lyon (3)	Paris Saint-Germain	Monaco
2004–05	Lyon (4)	Lille	Monaco
2005–06	Lyon (5)	Bordeaux	Lille
2006–07	Lyon (6)	Marseille	Toulouse
2007–08	Lyon (7)	Bordeaux	Marseille
2008–09	Bordeaux (6)	Marseille	Lyon
2009–10	Marseille (10)	Lyon	Auxerre
2010–11	Lille (3)	Marseille	Lyon
2011–12	Montpellier (1)	Paris Saint-Germain	Lille
2012–13	Paris Saint-Germain (3)	Marseille	Lyon
2013–14	Paris Saint-Germain (4)	Monaco	Lille
2014–15	Paris Saint-Germain (5)	Lyon	Monaco
2015–16	Paris Saint-Germain (6)	Lyon	Monaco
2016–17	Monaco (8)	Paris Saint-Germain	Nice
2017–18	Paris Saint-Germain (7)	Monaco	Lyon
2018–19	Paris Saint-Germain (8)	Lille	Lyon
2019–20[nb 4]	Paris Saint-Germain (9)	Marseille	Rennes
2020–21	Lille (4)	Paris Saint-Germain	Monaco
2021–22	Paris Saint-Germain (10)	Marseille	Monaco
2022–23	Paris Saint-Germain (11)	Lens	Marseille

Performance

Performance by club in Amateur Era and Professional Era

Club	Winners	Runners-up	Winning seasons	Runner-up seasons
Paris Saint-Germain	11	9	1985–86, 1993–94, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2021–22, 2022–23	1988–89, 1992–93, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2003–04, 2011–12, 2016–17, 2020–21
Marseille	10	14	1928–29, 1936–37, 1947–48, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 2009–10	1918–19, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1969–70, 1974–75, 1986–87, 1998–99, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2019–20, 2021–22
Saint-Étienne	10	3	1956–57, 1963–64, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1980–81	1945–46, 1970–71, 1981–82
Monaco	8	7	1960–61, 1962–63, 1977–78, 1981–82, 1987–88, 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2016–17	1963–64, 1983–84, 1990–91, 1991–92, 2002–03, 2013–14, 2017–18
Nantes	8	7	1964–65, 1965–66, 1972–73, 1976–77, 1979–80, 1982–83, 1994–95, 2000–01	1966–67, 1973–74, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1980–81, 1984–85, 1985–86
Lyon	7	5	2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08	1994–95, 2000–01, 2009–10, 2014–15, 2015–16
Bordeaux	6	9	1949–50, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1998–99, 2008–09	1951–52, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1968–69, 1982–83, 1987–88, 1989–90, 2005–06, 2007–08
Lille	6	7	1913–14, 1932–33, 1945–46, 1953–54, 2010–11, 2020–21	1935–36, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1950–51, 2004–05, 2018–19
Reims	6	3	1948–49, 1952–53, 1954–55, 1957–58, 1959–60, 1961–62	1946–47, 1953–54, 1962–63
Roubaix	6	2	1901–02, 1902–03, 1903–04, 1905–06, 1907–08, 1946–47	1904–05, 1906–07
Standard Athletic Club	5	–	1893–94, 1894–95, 1896–97, 1897–98, 1900–01
Nice	4	3	1950–51, 1951–52, 1955–56, 1958–59	1967–68, 1972–73, 1975–76
Helvétique Marseille	3	1	1908–09, 1910–11, 1912–13	1909–10
Le Havre	3	1	1898–99, 1899–1900, 1918–19	1900–01
RC Paris	2	6	1906–07, 1935–36	1901–02, 1902–03, 1907–08, 1910–11, 1960–61, 1961–62
Sochaux	2	3	1934–35, 1937–38	1936–37, 1952–53, 1979–80
Sète	2	1	1933–34, 1938–39	1913–14
Lens	1	5	1997–98	1955–56, 1956–57, 1976–77, 2001–02, 2022–23
Club Français	1	4	1895–96	1897–98, 1898–99, 1899–1900, 1928–29
CA Paris	1	2	1926–27	1905–06, 1908–09
US Tourcoing	1	1	1909–10	1927–28
Rouen	1	1	1944-45	1912–13
Strasbourg	1	1	1978–79	1934–35
Gallia Club Paris	1	–	1904–05
Saint-Raphaël	1	–	1911–12
Stade Français	1	–	1927–28
Auxerre	1	–	1995–96
Montpellier	1	–	2011–12
The White Rovers	–	4		1893–94, 1894–95, 1895–96, 1896–97
Nîmes	–	4		1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1971–72
Suisse Paris	–	1		1903–04
AS Française	–	1		1911–12
Amiens	–	1		1926–27
Cannes	–	1		1932–33
Fives	–	1		1933–34
Toulouse (1937)	–	1		1954–55
Metz	–	1		1997–98

Notes:

• Bold indicates clubs currently playing in Ligue 1.
• Lille OSC is the legal heir of Olympique Lillois.
• Toulouse FC is not the successor to Toulouse FC (1937).

Performance by club in Professional era

Club	Winners	Runners-up	Winning seasons
Paris Saint-Germain	11	9	1985–86, 1993–94, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2021–22, 2022–23
Saint-Étienne	10	3	1956–57, 1963–64, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1980–81
Marseille	9	13	1936–37, 1947–48, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 2009–10
Monaco	8	7	1960–61, 1962–63, 1977–78, 1981–82, 1987–88, 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2016–17
Nantes	8	7	1964–65, 1965–66, 1972–73, 1976–77, 1979–80, 1982–83, 1994–95, 2000–01
Lyon	7	5	2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08
Bordeaux	6	9	1949–50, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1998–99, 2008–09
Reims	6	3	1948–49, 1952–53, 1954–55, 1957–58, 1959–60, 1961–62
Lille	5	7	1932-33, 1945–46, 1953–54, 2010–11, 2020–21
Nice	4	3	1950–51, 1951–52, 1955–56, 1958–59
Sochaux	2	3	1934–35, 1937–38
Sète	2	–	1933–34, 1938–39
Lens	1	5	1997–98
RC Paris	1	2	1935–36
Strasbourg	1	1	1978–79
Roubaix-Tourcoing	1	–	1946–47
Auxerre	1	–	1995–96
Montpellier	1	–	2011–12
Nîmes	–	4	–
Cannes	–	1	–
Fives	–	1	–
Toulouse (1937)	–	1	–
Metz	–	1	–

Notes:

• Clubs in bold are competing in 2022–23 Ligue 1.
• Marseille were stripped of their title by the LFP after being found guilty of bribery in 1992–93 French Division 1. No winner was declared for that season.

Performance by club in Amateur era

Notes:

• RC Paris, Marseille and Olympique Lillois are the only teams who managed to win in Amateur era and also in Professional era.